Chris Stevenson has never been one to do things traditionally. At 19, with very little experience and no formal schooling in broadcasting, Chris walked into a Detroit radio studio unannounced and told the general manager he wanted to be on the radio. “The manager liked that I had some chutzpah and asked me to come back the next day to make a tape,” he recalls. “It was horrible! But he gave me some pointers and then he gave me a chance.”
Her neighborhood in the East Village is a mix of churches, party stores and vacant spaces. In between is a collage of homes built at the turn of the 20th century, some of which have their best days behind them.
Ms. Lee has no children to care for her and was about to have her utilities shut off. After having appeared in court three times, her bank refused to release a lien on her account over a credit card that had been returned 25 years ago.
Chris caught up with Debra at the 32nd Goodwin & Scieszka – WMUZ Law Day on June 8, 2019. Watch their conversation in this video.
With the dispute unresolved and desperate for help, Ms. Lee reached out to the radio church family. Within a matter of minutes, calls started pouring in with offers of assistance to keep the lights and heat turned on.
Jeff owns several properties in the East Village and understands the difficulties that some residents face. Jeff and many others volunteered funds to help pay Ms. Lee’s overdue DTE bill.
Joe from Charlotte (near Lansing) who commutes to Detroit and listens faithfully to WMUZ, took the initiative to call DTE and get Ms. Lee signed up on a monthly budget plan for seniors so that her utilities will never be shut off.
Then suddenly, after having called into the Morning Light, we received a text message from April:
Chris! The craziest thing! Well…a complete GODCIDENCE! Ms. Debra Lee, the woman who called this morning during Pay It Forward? I told you she lives right around the block from where I work. Well, she actually lives within walking distance from my building!
Not only that, I work in a nursing care center, and her best friends’ mother was a patient of mine about a year and a half ago. She knows exactly where I work and has visited her friend here! She has since relocated, but thought how amazing it is that God uses certain situations to bring people together.
Thank you for always being there for all of us! You do not know the impact that you have on people like me and Ms. Debra every single day! You are such a blessing and I thank you so much for all the love and support you have for everyone. #RCF #WMUZ #WEAREFAMILY
BEFORE Good evening Chris, I don’t even know where to start. I will start by saying that my two sons, ages 12 and 5, absolutely listening to “Jesus music” on WMUZ. We listen to it faithfully, and
Although he worked in radio for a number of years, Chris left his job to pursue some other career choices. When budget cutbacks found him out of work, Chris prayed for God to take him to the next level–and God answered by immediately destroying his idols and illusions. “I was sitting in the library studying for the license exam to sell stocks and annuities and I was so unhappy,” he says. “So I did a Google search for Detroit radio jobs and the job on WMUZ popped up.” Chris missed being on the air and he felt like this was what he had asked God to provide. One door after another opened up and within 30 days, Chris was hosting “The Morning Light.”
During his four hours on the air, Chris strives to use the power of the station’s 50,000 watts to reach others for Christ. “We say our show is about ‘Real People, Real Ministry,’ ” he says. “One of the things we do regularly we call ‘Pay It Forward Detroit.’ ”Pay It Forward Detroit got its start in 2012 when Chris received a BP cash card in the mail along with a handwritten note saying to give it to caller 76 because someone needed it. Chris did just that and the caller’s story was very similar to the handwritten note he had received. “People got inspired and started sending me things to give away,” Chris says. “We bless people in the name of Jesus just because we can.”
Chris also uses his mouthpiece to help those in need, from a single mother who needed a new mattress for her daughter to that family who might be struggling to make a house payment or to buy Christmas presents for their children. “We are ministering to the people of Southeast Michigan in a super organic way,” he explains. “We play the music our listeners want to hear, use scripture and spontaneously pray for people on the air all the time.”
When he’s not on air, you can find Chris spending time at one of his daughter Annalise’s chess tournaments, basketball or volleyball games, watching movies with his family or entertaining with wife Silvia at home. “I want to have a strong presence in Annalise’s life and empower her to become the best version of herself,” he says of his daughter. “I hear all these stories about people who say their father never told them they were loved. I don’t want any part of that.”
